The Rest Is Football
by Goalhanger
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards discuss football's biggest stories. From last-minute winners to transfer sagas, fantasy football gems, and the drama behind the scenes. With strong opinions, brilliant chemistry, and decades of Premier League experience, The Rest Is Football serves up three episodes every week packed with insights, dressing-room stories, and proper laughs. Whether it’s VAR controversies, title races, European nights, or England’s hopes in international tournaments, no topic is off the table. It's the essential podcast for football fans. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.
Episodes
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Cristiano Ronaldo: What Is His Legacy?
Where does Cristiano rank among the greatest footballers of all time? What was his biggest, single strength as a player? Has he tarnished his legacy in any way with how drawn out and messy his international retirement has been? Gary and Micah reflect on a stunning international career for…
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Who Can Challenge Arsenal As Manchester City Lose Again?
Arsenal move five points clear at the top of the Premier League as Manchester City suffer their third consecutive defeat. With City struggling and the shadow of the 115 charges still looming over them, is there anyone capable of stopping the Gunners from lifting the trophy at the end of the…
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Man United’s Miraculous Comeback, Iraola’s Conundrum & Brilliant Bellingham
Manchester United produce a miraculous second-half comeback, scoring three goals to beat Roma at Old Trafford. Have Michael Carrick’s players finally stepped up when it matters most to save his job? Meanwhile, the emergence of Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni has given Iraola a selection headache when…
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An Alan Shearer Takeover
In this special episode, we recently asked for your questions on Reddit and had Alan answer some of the best ones. Alan spoke about covering fitness in retirement, the Kane goal record, penalty mind games, Newcastle/Sunderland, Palace rumours, management, PGMOL, and the all-important wig and...
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Arsenal’s Defensive Masterclass, Martinez Madness & Brighton For The Champions League
Arsenal deliver a defensive masterclass to beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in 14 years, in yet another 1-0 victory. Where does this Arsenal defence rank among the greats of the Premier League era? After a promising first half, it all goes wrong again for Michael Carrick and…
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Is Arsenal’s Lack Of Firepower Cause For Concern? Foden Showing Glimpses Of His Best & Liverpool Starting To Tick
Do Arsenal need to bring in reinforcements up top in January? With both firing, should Man City start Foden or Cherki in the No 10 role? Is Rio Ngumoha now a must in Liverpool’s starting XI? Gary, Alan and Micah also discuss whether Max Dowman has been harshly treated after his red card and...
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Harry Kane Wins The Ballon Dor
Harry Kane becomes the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or and the first since Michael Owen in 2001. After scoring 73 goals for Bayern Munich and winning the domestic double, Kane beat Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to claim the prestigious award. But can he go back-to-back? Will Mbappé ever...
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Are Man United In A Relegation Battle? Carrick on the brink After Bournemouth Defeat
Manchester United plunge deeper into crisis as Bournemouth humiliate them 3-0 at Old Trafford. Gary, Micah and Alan dissect a miserable afternoon for Michael Carrick's side, who now sit 16th in the table and are winless in eight. They debate whether United are in a genuine relegation battle, why...
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Carrick vs Bruno, Kane For The Ballon D’Or & Who Are the Champions League Favourites?
It’s been a disastrous week for Manchester United as they suffer a heavy defeat to Cesc Fàbregas’s impressive Como side. To add fuel to the fire, Bruno Fernandes appears to have fallen out with Michael Carrick following his explosive post-match comments. Can it get any worse for United? Harry…
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"We can force an owner to sell" - Gary meets the Independent Football Regulator
The Independent Football Regulator has released its State of the Game report and the findings are eye-opening as the perilous financial situation much of the pyramid faces is laid bare. Gary Lineker and Alastair Campbell speak to the chair of the IFR David Kogan and find out what powers he has to...
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Brighton Oozing Class, The Dark Cloud Over the Premier League & Newcastle Struggle Again
Brighton are brilliant again, but are the Seagulls genuine title-race outsiders or is a Champions League push the more realistic target? Arsenal struggle to break through in the first half yet again before another substitute rides to the rescue. Is the bench becoming their most important weapon…
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PSG Humble Man City, Carrick Under Pressure & Lamine The Dream
Luis Enrique and PSG keep up their impressive record against English clubs as they beat Manchester City in one of the games of the season so far, are they favourites to get that third consecutive Champions League title? Michael Carrick comes under increasing pressure as his side fall to an…
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What’s The Problem At Manchester United?
Following the worst start to a Premier League season in their history, is Michael Carrick the right man to turn Manchester United around? Do United still belong among football’s elite, or has the club lost its status as one of the game’s true giants? And are the Glazers solely to blame for the...
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“Bad Look” As Manchester City Batter Liverpool Amid Charges
Manchester City thump Liverpool at Anfield after a controversial red card to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season. But with the 115 charges hanging over the club and the case still unresolved, is City's dominance becoming a bad look for the Premier League? What does it mean…
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England's Next Breakout Star? Josh King Meets TRIF
Fulham and England Under-21 midfielder Josh King joins TRIF for an illuminating conversation on what it was like to be called up by Thomas Tuchel for the World Cup training camp, how he's adjusting to life as one of Fulham's talismen under Alvaro Arbeloa and his ambitions to follow in the…
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England Excel Again & The Cristiano Ronaldo Saga
England rounded off a hugely positive international break with a 3-0 win over Czechia. Thomas Tuchel’s side scored 15 goals across the three matches, but beyond the scorelines, it was the style of play that really caught the eye. When was the last time England played with this much energy,...
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Exquisite England Hammer Calamitous Croatia
Will Alex Scott’s impressive first start give Tuchel some selection dilemmas? Is Jude Bellingham England’s best midfielder of this century? How has Anthony Gordon established himself as one of the Three Lions key players? Gary, Alan and Micah discuss the biggest highlights of England’s emphatic…
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What Punishment Will Manchester City Get?
In this Q&A episode, Gary, Alan and special guest Miguel Delaney - Chief Football Writer for The Independent answer your questions on the biggest story in Premier League history. Are the public right to condemn City before the appeal has even played out or should we be more cautious, given what...
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Manchester City’s 115 Charges: The Verdict
The Premier League has published its findings in the long-running case involving Manchester City’s 115 charges, detailing allegations that the club used “sham contracts” and “disguised funding schemes” involving commercial partners to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs. Manchester…
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England Go Toe-to-Toe With The World Champions & Man City’s Charges
Why was England’s performance against Spain much more encouraging than how things ended at the World Cup? Who was ‘star of the show’ for England yet again? What’s next for Cole Palmer and his England future? Gary, Alan and Micah are joined by Rob Jones to dissect England’s defeat against Spain.…
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Picking Our England XI vs Spain
Is a positive result against Spain the perfect way for England to move on from the disappointment of their World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina? Is Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad an admission that things went wrong in the summer? Gary, Alan & Micah pick their England starting XI to face...
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The Infantino Scandal That Led To Football Civil War - What Happens Next?
Will Gianni Infantino still be FIFA President after the next elections in March? How much damage has this actually done to him? Do FIFA need the extra money? Gary is joined by Martyn Ziegler, the man who broke the news about Infantino’s plans to sell stakes in the World Cup, to discuss how he…
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Arsenal Outclassed By Brighton, Goals Galore At The Etihad & Chelsea’s Frailties Exposed
Have Brighton shown they’re ready to mix it with the Premier League big guns? Are we seeing more carefree attacking football this season? How do Chelsea fix their defensive problems? Gary, Alan and Micah also discuss the ongoing troubles at Tottenham Hotspur and the relief Coventry will be…
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Boos at Old Trafford as Carrick says Man United have problems
Manchester United's tricky start to the season continued on Wednesday night after they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton as Michael Carrick admitted his side have a "number of problems" Gary, Alan and Micah give us their take on where it's going wrong for United as well as…
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Is Mbappé Confident or Arrogant? Barcelona’s Perfect Start & Kane’s Ballon d’Or Bid
Gary is joined by Julien Laurens for a European football special. They begin in France, where PSG have made a poor start to their Ligue 1 campaign. Will they recover and run away with the title, or have they left the door open for the chasing pack? In Spain, Barcelona have made a perfect start to...
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VAR Controversy Overshadows Manchester Derby
How did the officials get it so wrong with Erling Haaland’s winning goal? Should Phil Foden have been sent off? Where do we go with VAR from here? Gary, Alan and Micah also discuss the other big talking points from the weekend, including Arsenal’s resilient performance against Sunderland and how...
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The Champions League Is Back
The English clubs are off to a flier, with all five picking up three points in the Champions League group phase. Erling Haaland grabbed another brace to take his Champions League tally to 59 goals in 59 games, but who is the best pure goalscorer: Haaland, Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappé? With new...
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What is SCR and why does it matter?
We hear so much about SCR, PSR and all sorts of financial rules and regulations but what does it all mean and which clubs voted for it in the first place? Host of the Price of Football podcast Kieran Maguire joins Gary and Alan to break it all down and give us his take on whether the rules are...
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Arsenal The Team To Beat
Arsenal make it three wins from three and are looking every bit like champions as they ease past Chelsea at the Emirates. Manchester City join them on nine points, but Enzo Maresca’s side have been far less convincing, and next weekend’s Manchester derby could tell us plenty about where both…
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Fabian Hürzeler: The Youngest Ever Premier League Manager
What were the biggest difficulties of taking charge of a Premier League club at the age of 31? Why are Brighton so successful, despite regularly having to sell some of their best players? How important is the style of football your team play? Gary Lineker meets up with Brighton boss Fabian…
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The 2026/27 Premier League Draft
New season, new Premier League draft. Gary, Alan, Micah, and Rob Jones, compete to build the best team possible. Will anyone other than Erling Haaland go first? Will Alan load up on Newcastle players? Will Micah learn his lessons from last season when he blew his first pick on Fulham's Antonee...
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Alonso's Chelsea thrive as £300m Spurs sit bottom
Gary, Alan & Micah get stuck into the Premier League weekend as Xabi Alonso's Chelsea continued to impress with a 4-3 win over Brighton, with Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer starring in front of the watching Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel. Spurs may have spent over £300m in the summer but they...
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All 20 PL Clubs Predicted 26/27
Who will be top four? Who’s heading for the drop? Which teams will surprise and which will disappoint? In this special episode, Gary, Alan, and Micah look ahead to the new Premier League Season. They evaluate every one of the twenty Premier League clubs, predicting where they will finish. r Buy...
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Gary’s Top Gear Story, Micah’s Non-League Dream & Álvarez To Arsenal?
What really happened in Argentina to stop Gary going on Top Gear? Micah reveals his dream of becoming a Manager or Owner of a non-league football club. Will Arsenal sign Julian Alvarez in this transfer window, and what does it mean for the rest of the league if they get the Atletico Madrid star...
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Best Opening Premier League Weekend Ever?
Gary, Alan & Micah are back with a bang as we witnessed one of the most intriguing opening weekends we’ve seen in the Premier League. Manchester United suffered a shock defeat to newly promoted Hull, Aston Villa and Spurs were both battered by Brighton and Brentford, Manchester City staged a...
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Spain win the World Cup as Rodri reigns supreme
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, and Joe Cole reflect on Spain beating Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final in a match that saw De La Fuente's side dominate Messi's Argentina from start to finish We also look back at our best moments of the tournament with our intrepid England reporter...
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Emma Hayes & Joe Hart on Tuchel questioning England’s DNA
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, Joe Hart and Emma Hayes reflect further on England's World Cup exit now that we've got a bit of distance since the game - including Emma's view as a coach on Tuchel's tactical decisions and we get Joe's view on Jude Bellingham's reaction to Jordan...
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England's "fear of failure" costs them against Argentina
England are out of the World Cup after a 2-1 loss to Argentina. Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, Joe Cole, Ally McCoist and Patrick Vieira react to yet another major tournament heartbreak for the Three Lions and look at the hard to understand approach from Thomas Tuchel after his side...
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England v Argentina & France v Spain - who reaches the final?
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, Joe Cole and Mikel John Obi preview a pair of mouthwatering World Cup semi-finals starting with France v Spain - will France's firepower be able to crack the steely Spanish defence? Will Lamine Yamal have his moment and see his side through to another...
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Bellingham saves England and sets up semi-final v Argentina and Messi
Gary Lineker, Micah Richards, Joe Cole and Ally McCoist react to England beating Norway 2-1 in the World Cup quarter-final thanks to yet more brilliance from Jude Bellingham. How long can we turn in substandard performances while relying on our stars to bail us out? We also hear from Alan Shearer...
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Electric Mbappe cements France's place as favourites
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Joe Cole reflect on the first quarter-final as France beat Morocco 2-0 thanks to another impressive showing from Kylian Mbappe. Can any of the other contenders stop Didier Deschamps' side? There's also a look at the surprising decision by FIFA to...
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Messi inspires Argentina again as Egypt left fuming with VAR
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Joe Cole react to Argentina's late comeback as they beat Egypt 3-2 in a game which featured yet another goal, and an assist, from Messi and a contentious VAR call that left Egypt up in arms We also look at Switzerland progressing via penalties…
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Zohran Mamdani - why he loves Arsenal and hates hydration breaks
Gary Lineker sits down with the Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani to talk soccer, his Arsenal origin story and get his views on the impact the World Cup is having in his city and beyond They also talk ticket prices, hydration breaks, and some of the wider issues surrounding the tournament
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Brilliant England battle through Mexico test to the Quarter Finals
Gary Lineker, Micah Richards, Brad Friedel, Joe Hart, Alex Aljoe and Aitch react to a famous England win over Mexico at the Azteca. They pick out huge performances from the likes of Jordan Pickford, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon as they overcame a hostile atmosphere and a red card to finish...
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Argentina survive huge scare against Cape Verde as Messi makes it 8 in a row
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, Joe Cole and Christopher Eccleston discuss a World Cup classic, as Cape Verde took Argentina to extra time before finally losing 3-2. They also look at Thomas Tuchel's preparations for their knockout game against Mexico on Sunday and the tactical…
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Kane to the rescue as England squeeze past DR Congo
Gary Lineker, Micah Richards, Joe Cole, Brad Friedel and Rob Beckett react to England's 2-1 win over DR Congo thanks to a late brace from Harry Kane - should we be worried about that performance or is relying on your world class players to get you over the line perfectly acceptable? Micah and…
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Terrible Germany crash out as Brazil fight back
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, Emma Hayes, Millie Bright and Joe Cole break down a big World Cup shock as a disappointing Germany were sent home by Paraguay on penalties. They also reflect on Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Japan, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men overturning an early goal to put...
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Mentality monster Bellingham sees England top the group
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards are joined by five-time Ryder cup winner Ian Poulter and our England reporter Rob Jones to reflect on England's 2-0 win over Panama that saw them top the group thanks to another big performance from Jude Bellingham We also get the thoughts of Harry...
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England struggle in Ghana stalemate and Ronaldo gets off the mark
England's second group game curse struck again as they laboured to a 0-0 draw with Ghana in Boston. Gary Lineker is joined by Micah Richards, Harry Maguire, Joe Cole and Patrick Vieira for reaction to a disappointing performance from Thomas Tuchel's side. There's also a look at Cristiano Ronaldo...
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Lamine Yamal lights it up and Cape Verde continue to dream
Gary Lineker, Micah Richards, Joe Cole, Ally McCoist, Joe Hart and Mo Gilligan reflect on Lamine Yamal inspiring Spain to a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia and they also look at the amazing scenes in Miami as Cape Verde fought to a 2-2 draw with Uruguay to keep their dream of qualifying for the…
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About this show
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards discuss football's biggest stories.
From last-minute winners to transfer sagas, fantasy football gems, and the drama behind the scenes.
With strong opinions, brilliant chemistry, and decades of Premier League experience, The Rest Is Football serves up three episodes every week packed with insights, dressing-room stories, and proper laughs.
Whether it’s VAR controversies, title races, European nights, or England’s hopes in international tournaments, no topic is off the table. It's the essential podcast for football fans.
For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.
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Goalhanger
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